Fresh
from Pepperdine College in Southern California in 1983, Deidre Robinson was all
excited about going into the business world to make money. Three years later,
she quit. Disillusioned with mergers and layoffs, she became a middle school
teacher, only to discover a shortage of history books for children with African
American heroines. So she wrote one.
"Coming out of
college in 1983, the whole culture of the Eighties created this incredible
pressure to make money," Robinson, now 36, says. "My mom had told me
to get an advanced degree after school so I could teach, but I said 'No way!'
That wasn't 'the thing,' at the time.
Working for Sprint,
she had originally been overlooked for the position of supervisor, but when she
dressed as Madonna for the office Halloween party, and danced around to a
boombox, she won a costume prize and was made a customer service supervisor.
Although Robinson was pleased with
the promotion, she was discouraged by the message.
"I was raised
that if you work hard, that your hard work and your character will get you the
accolades," Robinson says. "Had I known that dancing in a silly
costume could get me promoted, I would have stopped working so hard long before!
It was a lesson for me that it was not what or who you knew that would propel
you forward, but their perception of you.
"But then I found myself training people (as a manager) and I found
I
enjoyed not just using the same scripted explanation, but trying to find
creative ways to help them understand it. I started thinking - I wonder if this
is what teaching would be like? At some point, I started thinking about giving
back to the community instead of just making money for them (Sprint.)
"My dream as a
kid had been to teach high school. My mom taught kindergarten for 40 years, and
my aunt taught 5th and 6th grade. When I was little, my cousins and I would get
the textbooks and play teachers, teaching all the stuffed animals and dolls who
were the students. My Dad and uncle thought it was terrible. We were seven years
old, running around talking about how we were 'planning our curriculum!'
Robinson quit in 1986
and took on a sixth grade home room at a Catholic school near where she had
grown up near Los Angeles. Trepidatious about going into teaching, Robinson was
surprised by what she found.
"There is this
stereotype that today's kids are unreceptive or packing a gun, that teaching is
a rough gig," Robinson says. "But the kids were receptive and eager to
learn. I was surprised, because I had been concerned - is teaching really a
thankless job? I used to look at my mom and all the hours she put in for the pay
she received, but I started to learn that when you enjoy what you do, the extra
time doesn't matter."
In 1987, Robinson went
back to school part-time to earn a Masters in Education with an emphasis on
remedial reading, eventually going to work at St. John Chrysostom school in
Gardena, which she had attended for middle-school. In the mid-Nineties, Robinson
was teaching fourth grade California history, and came across Biddy Mason.
"We were learning about California becoming a state, and how they voted
there would be no slavery," Robinson says. "There were about five
paragraphs on Biddy Mason, and my kids said, who's she? We've never heard of
her. And I thought, neither have I." Curious about this African American
slave and nurse who won her freedom in the courts, became the first female land
owner in Los Angeles, and founded the First African Methodist Episcopal Church,
Robinson began researching Mason more deeply in order to answer her students'
questions.
"Biddy Mason was
a slave who was able to fight for her freedom in the courts," Robinson
says. "And she was a woman whose smart investments made her wealthy, which
is a thing not associated with women at that time. People are also surprised to
hear that the founder of the (First African Methodist Episcopal) church was a
woman."
In her continuing efforts to learn more about
Mason's life, Robinson ultimately signed up for a class on how to write
children's books in the summer of 1997, telling herself that she didn't actually
have to write a book, but that it would be helpful to learn the process, and to
do the research on Mason so she could craft a better lesson for her students.
"In the course
description, it said you didn't have to actually write a book during the class,
you could just observe and learn," Robinson says. "When I entered that
class, I didn't believe I had any talent. I didn't think I'd ever really write a
book. But my classmates and instructor were so supportive, I got enthusiastic
and excited and it became a challenge. Like, let me see if I can do it."
Robinson finished the
manuscript that summer. She titled it: "Open Hands, Open Heart, The Story
of Biddy Mason," after Mason's saying, "If you hold your hand closed,
nothing good can come in. The open hand is blessed, for it gives in abundance,
even as it receives."
Robinson submitted the
manuscript to publishers, but was met with numerous rejections.
"Publishers told
me that it was just local history, there wasn't a national appeal, that it had
no dialogue," Robinson says. "So I just sort of tucked it away."
Yet through a series
of coincidences and synchronicity, Robinson found support for her project. She
discovered her aerobics instructor also worked at the church Mason founded. He
asked to read her manuscript, and then gave it to the pastor, who was heading a
125th anniversary celebration of the church. The pastor and other ministers
liked what they read.
"They invited me
to come and meet with the anniversary board," Robinson says. "They
were clear that they could not offer financial support, but could give me
spiritual support. I knew they'd pray for the project to get off the ground, and
they'd help promote it in any way they could."
Soon Robinson learned
that a younger brother of a friend was starting a design firm, and that he'd be
willing to do some illustrations for her.
"I sent him the
manuscript, and he sent back 18 camera ready illustrations!" Robinson says.
"So we had the art, and we had the words, and
I was like, now what do we do? I was still teaching 4th grade, and it was
the time of year to talk about Biddy again, so I read the manuscript to my
students without mentioning who wrote it. And the kids all started saying 'Wow!
I didn't know that,' and started parroting back the facts of the story. And then
one kid said, 'Where did you get that story?' And I told them I had written it,
and they said 'YOU did that Ms. Robinson? YOU did?' I brought in the
illustrations the next day and they loved them. I figured our kids are not the
whole world, but they do represent kids their age. So I thought, OK, this can
happen. But since there were still no takers with the publishers, I decided to
self-publish it."
The final piece of the
puzzle Robinson and her illustrator needed was funding.
"My mom read every single draft of the manuscript but I never could
tell how she felt about it," Robinson says. "Her response was always,
'That's good. You're doing a good job with it.' When it came down to the issue
of self-publishing, I had been trying to figure out how I could raise the money.
In her quiet, subtle way, my Mom said she would give me the money, and that it
would be a gift not a loan. She could anticipate the difficulty of teaching and
trying to sell the book at the same time. She said, 'Have fun with it and do
your best.'"
The finished books
were ready in April, 1998. Then came the challenge of marketing them. For
Robinson, that has meant book fairs and appearances in churches and other venues
where ever she can get them.
"I spent last summer selling books," Robinson says. "We've basically gone the Girl Scout Cookie route. It's been frustrating not being able to get the book into large stores, but I squeeze it (selling) in whenever I can. I don't get disappointed when I cart in 42 books and only sell two. I figure they'll tell somebody else about the book."
Robinson says that in
the future, she'd like to do more books for children.
"In studying
California history, I've come across more folks who'd be great to cover,"
Robinson says. "More interesting, colorful characters. I jotted down names
and need to go back to them. There aren't a lot of books that deal with LA
history. I would really like to see this book be the start of a series."
In the meantime,
Robinson continues to find that people are moved by Mason's story.
"Students have
told me that what appeals to them about Biddy's story is that all odds were
against her, and she continued to persevere," says Robinson.
She says she has no
regrets about choosing the path of teacher over business executive, and remains
inspired by Mason.
"People joke and
say you do more (as a teacher) than you get paid for," Robinson says.
"But what I've found is that in giving so much, I get all of these great
things back in return. The kids who hold the door or help you carry your bags,
the ones that are happy to see you or worried if you were out for a day. The
love that I feel from my students is just incredible.
"I think we can all learn from Biddy's story. Never give up, and never say never. That you extend an open hand, and while you are giving, you are in some way receiving."
published on June 30, 1999 in the Chicago Tribune
copyright 2003 Ellen Nordberg . all rights reserved .
ENordberg@mindspring.com